One field of materials science is the study of failure analysis. When building any type of product that has to withstand a significant amount of stress, it is important to know under what conditions the materials in the product are likely to fail. Material science engineers therefore spend time testing the basic metals, plastics and various parts of the product in order to understand the limits of that material. If possible, they also test the final product as well in order to make sure that the product will meet appropriate safety standards.

A second recently popular field of materials science is the field of nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is the study and manipulation of matter on a molecular or atomic level. One branch of the field focuses on changing the nature of matter on a micro level in order to create new stronger, lighter, more heat resistant materials that will allow us to develop a whole variety of new technologies. A second branch attempts to construct machines at a micro level that would allow us to accomplish activities that would otherwise be impossible given their small size (for example cleaning plaque out of hardening arteries). There have been a lot of concerns about the possible consequences of nanotechnology. We currently don't know what the environmental effects or the long term outcomes of micromachines would be. Therefore many groups have called for stricter oversight in this field.